Secrets of the Past
by Dragon of the Crimson Flame
Summary: The detectives, who were on their way to the Second Dark Tournament, was, once again, one member short. A mysterious girl volunteers to help and when she finally reveals her past Hiei is bombarded by memories long forgotten.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is my friend's fic, ToCOrNot 77, and so since she didn't have any place to put it I decided that we put this under my account. I'm not trying to take any credit in this! It's all my best friend's fic so please review!

**Secrets of the Past**

Chapter 1: Meeting Katana

It was the day of the start of the second Martial Arts Tournament. Just like last time, Yusuke, Kurama, Kuwabara and Hiei didn't have a fifth member on their team.

"Great! How are we supposed to defeat all of the other contestants if we don't have a fifth member?" Kuwabara said.

"Aw! Don't worry Kuwabara, there are no other strong fighters out there, we defeated them all last time," explained Yusuke confidently.

"I think Kuwabara meant that when we make it to the finals, who's going to be our fifth member?" Kurama replied.

"Who do you think? Since we don't have a fifth member it will unfortunately have to be that fool, Koenma," replied Hiei not too patiently.

Then, all of a sudden a mysterious voice said "You four must be Team Urameshi." Startled, the four looked behind them to see a small, young-looking girl with hazel brown eyes and blue, wavy hair. Before anyone could say anything she hastily explained, "My name is Katana and I will be the fifth member of your team."

Just then the boat arrived in the dock. After the team exchanged doubting glances, Yusuke said "Fine, but don't expect to fight because . . ." "Because" Kuwabara cut in, using his most teacher like voice, "Number 1, you're a girl, and girls aren't supposed to be fighting in dangerous Tournaments, especially one like you. And Number 2 we don't even know if you're a decent fighter of just a weakling like everyone else here. And Number 3 . . ."

"Will you shut up already!" Hiei said, annoyed, "The boat is about to leave."

"Shut yourself up, shrimp!"

"Uh oh," muttered Kurama, sensing another fight. "Uh, let's go," he managed to say before anything started, and luckily Hiei and Kuwabara listened to him, not wanting to miss the boat.

_Hm . . . that girl looks and sounds familiar, way too familiar. Oh well, it'll come to me soon,_ thought Yusuke.

"So", said Kuwabara, "Are you sure you want to fight in this competition with us? It's going to be tough you know. Well with us it will be a piece of cake, but if you have to fight, it'll be hard."

"I know," said Katana with her soft voice hinting annoyance.

"Hn! Just let her fight, she can get killed for all I care. It'll be her fault anyway" Hiei said, glaring at the girl. As an answer, Katana glared back. _Wow! I think Hiei's just met his match at glaring. That young lady's glare is just as good as his,_ Kurama thought.

But his thoughts and Hiei and Katana's stare down were both interrupted by Yusuke saying, "Oh, I almost forgot. We should probably introduce ourselves . . ."

"I know already," Katana replied, looking up, "You're Yusuke," she said, pointing to the boy with brown eyes, black hair and a fighting attitude. "And you're Kuwabara," looking at the not too handsome boy with black eyes, orange hair and a courageous heart. "You're Kurama" she moved on to look at the red-headed boy who appeared to be only 15, but was actually Yoko Kurama who was 100s of years old but trapped in a human body. "And the snobby and arrogant, self-centered guy over there," she said indignantly, "Is Hiei."

"Hn!" replied Hiei, realizing that he had met his match in insults as well. Team Urameshi was silent the rest of the trip.

"Never thought that of all places we would be spending our days of cutting classes here, huh Kuwabara," explained Yusuke.

"Yeah," replied Kuwabara distractedly, looking for Yukina. Keiko, Shizuru, Botan, Yukina, and Koenma were supposed to be meeting them at the hotel. While they walked into the hotel and were shown their room everyone around them hushed and stared at them.

"So," Kurama said to Katana, oblivious to all of the people staring at them, "You know a lot about us, but we don't know much about you." Kurama got an intent glare telling him that she had no intention of telling him that information as a reply.

"All you need to know are my name and that I can be trusted," she said to him.

"Oh," Kurama mumbled. _Not too social is she? _

They reached their room, dropped their thing and went back outside to meet the others.

"Hey, Yukina, what's the matter," asked Botan as they were waiting for the boys.

"Oh," Yukina said, looking up, "I was just thinking. I know it sounds silly but . . . do you think it is possible that . . . Hiei could be, um, my brother?"

"Uh . . ." _Oh no, what if she finds out. Has she already found out? What should I say? I can't just lie to a sweet and innocent girl like Yukina. But if I do tell Hiei is going to kill me, and I do mean kill, he will probably most likely torture me to death . . . _thought Botan.

"Of course he couldn't be your brother, Yukina. A rude and arrogant jerk like him could never even be remotely related to you," said Keiko indignantly, unknowingly saving Botan from blabbing out the truth.

"But I'm sure he's really a nice guy inside," said Yukina hopefully, "Sometimes he does act coldly towards other people, but I can see that he's just afraid to trust anyone. He probably had an extremely rough childhood."

"Well, maybe you should try and ask him," said Shizuru with a slight teasing tone in her voice.

"Do you really think he would listen to me?" asked Yukina, not noticing that Shizuru was just teasing.

"Hey look, there they are," exclaimed Keiko excitedly.

"Yukina!" said Kuwabara running over to her. _Wow! She's so beautiful. Her face seems to be shining as brightly as the sun and her perfect sea-green hair looks even more perfect than usual, _thought Kuwabara, blushing.

"Why, hello Kazuma," said Yukina, using Kuwabara's first name as usual. "How have you been?"

"Great! I've missed you so much, my love," said Kuwabara.

"Aren't you even going to say "hello" to your big sis, bro?" said Shizuru.

"Hi," said Kuwabara quickly, not even bothering to look at her.

**POW! "OWEEEEEEE!"** yelped Kuwabara in pain as Shizuru punched him on the head. While Kuwabara and Shizuru were engaged in a not too friendly conversation, Yukina walked over to Hiei who was standing under a tree trying to ignore Keiko, who was, in vain, trying to get Hiei to say something other than "Hn."

"Oh! Yukina thank goodness you're here! You can try getting him to talk," said Keiko in exasperation. She made her way to the rest of the gang to engage in small talk.

Hiei tried to act normal, as if he didn't care if Yukina was there or not. But he did. His heart was pulled in two directions. To keep silent about his being the brother she had been looking for, or to proclaim it to her and the whole world that he was Yukina's twin brother. But he knew what he had to do, he had to keep it from Yukina that he was the one, her long lost twin brother, he had to protect her. _Plus she wouldn't want me as a brother, _thought Hiei._ I'm a criminal and a murderer, she would never want me. I don't deserve her anyway. . . Still she's my sister and I love her more than anything else, I just want what's best for her. I can't tell her. I just can't. For the both of us, it would be better if she just didn't know. _Hiei tried to convince himself that he wouldn't tell Yukina the truth, but no matter how hard he tried, his heart still yearned to tell her, hoping, hoping that she would just maybe forgive him, just maybe . . .

"Hiei?" Yukina said breaking the silence that had lasted for at least 5 minutes. Hiei looked up, startled from his brooding thoughts. "I'm sorry to disturb you. It looked like you were thinking very hard about something, but I just had to ask you. Um, would you like to go on a picnic with us tomorrow? Everyone will be there." Yukina's eyes held such a hopeful expression that Hiei couldn't bring himself to refuse the request.

"Sure," he mumbled so Yukina could barely hear him.

"Oh, thank you!" said Yukina, her voice full of enthusiasm, "It will be so wonderful. I'm going to go and invite everyone else!" Then she walked away, understanding that Hiei probably preferred to be alone.

Meanwhile, Kurama, Yusuke, Botan, and Keiko were chatting when Keiko suddenly asked, "So, did you guys ever find a fifth member for your team?"

"Oh, yes, in fact we did, I'm sure all of you will be very surprised when you see her," replied Kurama.

"Her?" said Botan, not understanding what was going on.

"Hey, Kurama," whispered Yusuke, "Where is she anyway?"

"How should I know? In case you haven't noticed, she's not exactly what people would call a social butterfly," Kurama whispered back.

"I'm right here, you know," Katana's monotonous voice appeared out of nowhere. Yusuke and Kurama jumped. Where had she come from?

They looked behind them, and there she was standing quietly in the shadow of a tree.

"Oh, hey Katana we were just talking about you . . . heh, heh," said Yusuke uneasily, scratching his head. Everyone stopped conversation to stare at the tiny, young looking girl who was surprisingly pretty.

Shizuru was the first to say the question on all of the girls' minds, "Your fifth fighter is a girl?" Shizuru said, not afraid to show her surprise. The question was left unanswered as Keiko, Shizuru, and Botan stared at the girl. Yukina just looked on the ground considering it impolite to stare at someone. Katana didn't flinch.

"Yeah, um, well she just came up to us and told her she would be on our team and we took her," explained Kuwabara. There was no response from the surprised group of girls, only blank stares at this newcomer.

Tired of being stared at by people she didn't even know, she started to walk away.

"I'm going to my room," she said offhandedly.

"Uh, Yusuke, don't you think it is just a teensy bit risky to accept a fighter you don't even know and place so much trust on her to win the fights?" asked Botan when the strange woman had walked out of hearing distance.

"No, not really, she's just a filler. You see, this is how I see it, even if she and Kuwabara here lose their fights, then we still have me, Kurama and Hiei left to win ours. So, I figured that we have a three against two chance of winning, at the least," replied Yusuke.

"Urameshi!" exclaimed Kuwabara after a few seconds, realizing that Yusuke had just insulted him, "Of course I'm gonna win my fights. I always do, especially when my precious Yukina is cheering me on." He puffed out his chest in an attempt to look manly. Everyone ignored him.

"Fine with me if they want to get their butts kicked off the tournament and roasted on a spit," said Shizuru.

"Do you guys know anything about her other than her name?" asked Keiko.

"No," replied Yusuke, tired of talking.

"Who cares anyway?" said Kuwabara, already over the earlier . . . err, argument.

"I care!" chorused Botan and Keiko.

"Who cares if you guys care," shrugged Yusuke and Kuwabara in unison.

"We really should know more about her," mused Kurama, "But when I asked, she wouldn't answer, and it's hard to tell if she's strong because if she is, she seems to be suppressing her energy, but by the looks of her she's strong. I think that we can trust her, but we will have to wait until the day after tomorrow to find out for certain."

"Oh yeah, I forgot. The tournament doesn't start until the day after tomorrow," said Yusuke.

"Oh yes! Talking about forgetting, don't you boys forget that Yukina's planned a picnic for everyone and we're meeting at 10:00 am," Botan reminded everyone.

"So that woman, Katana, she seems, well, like she's had a bad past or something. Kind of reminds me of Hiei. That cold stare and uncaring look in her eyes, and also the way she separates herself from everyone else," concluded Botan to Shizuru, Keiko, and Yukina in the hotel room her and Shizuru shared.

"Yes, she does seem a bit mysterious. I just hope that we can trust her," said Keiko, "For all we know, she can be working for some evil monster and kill Yusuke and the others in their sleep."

"I think that she's just quiet and likes to keep to herself," brought up Yukina, always seeing the best in others.

"Maybe," said Shizuru, "The fact of the matter is, if she turns out to be the enemy, she'll get all of us killed, but if we can trust her and she's an exceptional fighter, then she might end up saving all of our lives."

Everyone sighed. "Well, from the way it looks, we can trust her, I mean she probably could have killed us all by now," said Keiko, trying to stop worrying, "No use worrying about it, I'm going to bed. Coming Yukina?" said Keiko walking to the door with Yukina close behind. "Good Night," Botan and Shizuru said as Keiko and Yukina walked out.

The next day, everyone was at the proper picnic place by 10:30 am, including Hiei. While everyone was talking and drinking sake, Yukina drew Hiei away into the forest.

"Um, Hiei, I need to ask you something," said Yukina, looking doubtful and unsure of herself.

"Yeah?" Hiei tried to answer as politely as he could, hoping that he could get rid of Yukina's obvious doubt. It didn't work.

"I'm sure that you know that I've been looking for my long lost estranged twin brother. I've been trying very hard to find him. All I know is that he is a skilled martial artist and a fire apparition. Well, like you." Hiei winced inwardly, but his face betrayed none of his emotions. _She can't find out now,_ he thought in panic._ She would never forgive me for keeping from her that I'm the one she was looking for so long. And I have already known her for 3 years. _

Unknowingly, his body tensed up, just the slightest bit, but Yukina noticed and, encouraged, she continued, interrupting Hiei's frantic thoughts, "I've always felt like I've known you my whole life, like, somehow, someway, we were connected. It's so strange. You've always been so kind to me. Just like how a brother would be kind to his sister. What I'm trying to say is . . . are you my brother?"

She didn't pause to wait for his answer, perhaps because she was fearful of what it would be. Afraid that he would say that she was mistaken and that her brother was dead. She had waited so long for her brother and had searched all her life and was so uncertain, so unsure of this whole thing. But she knew one thing, Hiei did know something about her brother and she was going to get it out of him. Today.

"Are you the one who is called the Forbidden Child of Koorime, the brother that I love so much, the child who was tossed off the cliffs of Koorime into Makai?" Yukina had so much hope and determination in her voice, so much longing to find her brother that Hiei had a hard time keeping up his false façade of being cold and uncaring. What would he do? What could he do? Nothing came to his mind at the moment, so he did the only thing he could do . . . he ran.

"I have to go," Hiei mumbled right before he disappeared from Yukina's eyes.

"Wait!" Hiei heard his sister's cry, laced with grief and broken hope. Grief that he had caused, and hope that he had broken. The mere thought of ever making his sister cry tore at his heart. This pain in his chest could not ever be cured. And he ran, ran away from the fear and pain he had felt in that moment, hoping to outrun what he knew he couldn't.

_How could things have ended up like this? _He thought to himself, sitting in a tree branch far, far away from the picnic and most importantly, from Yukina. _I should have just kept my distance that day. I should have just let Yusuke save her from that greedy bastard, Tarukene. I should have stayed away instead of risking the danger of her knowing who I am. Maybe, if I hadn't met her that day, then she wouldn't have found out. _

Hiei clenched his fists in frustration, mad at his current predicament. How would he get out of this one? _What am I supposed to tell her, that I'm her brother? That her brother is a thief and a cold-blooded killer?_ _No. I won't do that; I'd die before I ever told her that. She's much too innocent to ever be my sister. She's much too perfect. I would taint her . . . I guess I'll just have to lie to her . . . again. I know what's right and I won't hesitate to do it, even if it means lying to her._ He promised himself with fierce determination. _I will protect her. I will not, under any circumstances, be weighed down by these petty human emotions._

He was quickly startled out of his thoughts as he sensed another presence very close by. _Kurama_. Just as he thought, the kitsune emerged from the thick brush within the next few seconds.

"What are you doing all the way out here, Hiei?" he asked, strolling over to sit under the tree his friend was currently sitting on.

Silence.

"Yukina was very worried about you," he continued, used to Hiei's silent attitude. "After the two of you had that little chat in the forest she came back looking sad and depressed. She said that you ran off, so I came looking for you to ease her fears. Though I must admit, it was quite difficult to trace your scent."

"Hn," Hiei answered, "She knows, fox."

There was a moment of silence. "So what are you going to do? You can't deny yourself happiness forever, you know."

"I'm going to tell her that he's dead," his voice betrayed none of his emotions, "I'm going to tell her that her brother is dead."

"Could you really do that to her after all this time she's spent looking for you?" Kurama's voice was even and calm.

"Yes, I will end her long search. She's wasted enough of her life searching for a brother that will never exist. I will not let her suffer any longer." He sounded certain; there was no changing his mind.

"Is this really what you want?" said Kurama, concerned for the pain his friend would be putting himself through should he tell her this lie.

There was silence for a while, and it seemed as if Hiei wouldn't answer his question, but he did. "It doesn't matter."

"Alright then, but you'll regret it."

They sat in silence for a while longer until Kurama decided it would be best for him to leave.

"I should really be going," he said, standing up and brushing himself off. "Oh yeah, the picnic is already over. It's 2:00 already. Everyone's back at the hotel. See you there!" With that he walked off and disappeared in the thick forest, leaving the fire apparition to his own thoughts.

But neither did any of them know that, from the shadows, a figure watched them silently.

_I see you've found your sister, Hiei. Well done. _

A/N: So what did you think? Anyways please review my friend's fic! PLEASE:)


	2. Hi! note

Hi! I just want to tell you that I'll get my friend to update as soon as possible….which might be a very long time for she doesn't have an account and no internet, but not to worry! Maybe she'll post it in the next, next week…possibly. So thanks for the great review and I'll make sure she replies to all of you…somehow! Hehehehe! We made a bet that if she got three good reviews or over that she'll continue and muwahahahaha I won! So now she shall continue and remember she has to get reviews or she won't continue so keep reviewing!


	3. The Second Martial Arts Tournament

A/N: Hey, you guys. It's me, ToCOrNot 77, personally (well, not really). Thank you soooo much for reviewing this story. I really appreciate all of the feedback you guys give me. I actually didn't think this story was that great (Dragon of the Crimson Flame FORCED me to post this), but since at least some people like it I'll continue (after all, we made a bet). I'll probably be updating once a week at the most due to my busy schedule. I'll try my best to update a lot though. Anyways, I'm blabbing again. Here's the responses to my reviewers:

**pyro the dark angel:** Hey pyro. Thanks so much for the review. If it helps, I haven't decided whether or not to actually have Hiei tell her that her brother's dead. I hope you like this chapter.

**GothChika07:** Thanks for reviewing! I guess Hiei can be mean sometimes, but that's just the way he is. Hope you like this chapter.

**ladyKaguya: **Katana's a kinda weird name, yeah? Well, there is a reason for it. But, anyway, thanks for the review. You're right. They are going to annoy each other, but for now, they're mostly ignoring each other.

**The Squabbit:** I'd really like it if you kept up with my fic, but you don't have to if you don't want to. I'm warning you, it might take a while for me to update. But I really hope you stick with it. Thanks for the review.

**aznwolf4ever: **Thanks for the compliment and for reviewing. Well, here's the next part.

**Zero:** Hey! Thanks for reviewing. Here's the next chapter.

To all of my reviewers and readers: THANK YOU SO MUCH! Sorry I won't be able to update a lot, but I have soccer every single day. So I'll be busy. Well . . . here's the next chapter. I hope you like it.

Secrets of the Past

Chapter 2: The Second Martial Arts Tournament

It was a peaceful and quiet morning. Hiei walked out of the hotel at exactly 9:00 in the morning, not looking a bit tired, even though he had only fallen asleep a couple hours before due to the enormous amount of thinking he did over a certain ice maiden.

"Why do I even bother to sleep, I mean, I don't need it anyway," he mumbled to himself.

"I suppose, it's just because it gives us more energy," said Kurama walking out of the door and standing next to Hiei.

Hiei, who seemed not the least bit surprised at Kurama's sudden appearance, made a sound of disgust and said, "What are _you _doing here?"

Kurama yawned. "Today is the first day of the Martial Arts Tournament," he said, explaining to Hiei what he already knew and completely ignoring his question. Suddenly they were interrupted by a loud voice that completely disturbed the quietness of the morning.

"Great! The gorilla is here," mumbled Hiei, not very enthusiastically.

"So, are you guys ready for the Tournament," said Kuwabara in a loud and obviously excited voice. "I know I am," he continued, not waiting for anyone to answer.

"Hello Kuwabara," Kurama greeted his friend. "Yusuke," he nodded, "Katana," he said giving her a curious look. _I never noticed how much Katana's outfit looks like the one Genkai used to wear, _thought Kurama absentmindedly, staring at the blue and white outfit she was wearing that was fashioned exactly like Genkai's.

"Hey," Yusuke answered as Katana gave Kurama a curt nod. They started off toward the fighting arena, walking at a casual pace.

Yukina yawned and looked at the clock which said 9:31. Her mind was groggy, probably because of the strange, yellow, bubbly liquid that Shizuru had insisted on them drinking last night. What was it called again? Sake?

_Hiei, _she thought, suddenly remembering the incident yesterday. _I shouldn't have asked him. I already know the answer. We both know, we both know that we are twins. I should have waited until he was ready to admit the truth. I hope he isn't too angry with me. Sometimes, though, I do wonder why he doesn't want to tell me. I know that I don't deserve to have a brother as good as him, but he could at least tell me. Does he know how much I've missed him? How long I've waited for him? Does he want me as a sister?_

All of these thoughts and questions rushed through Yukina's mind as she lay in bed, eyes open. She was in such deep thought that she was rather startled when Keiko's soft voice disturbed the peace and quiet.

"Yukina? Are you up? I'm sorry did I wake you?" said Keiko after seeing Yukina jump.

"Oh, no. I was just thinking about something," replied Yukina, giving her a sad smile.

"You know," said Keiko, suddenly filled with rage and completely awake, "I'm going to give that Hiei character a piece of my mind! You don't deserve to be treated so unfairly!" She calmed down, noticing that she was yelling and Yukina looked frightened. "He shouldn't have just run off like that," she said more quietly, but with no less passion, "He should have answered your question. Surely, he knows how important finding your brother is to you."

"Yes, he does," Yukina said, not sounding even one bit mad at him, "But I wasn't expecting him to tell me right away, he needs to think about it first. I know that it hurts him every time he sees me and knows that I spent so much time looking for him. But he's had it so much harder than me. I can feel it in my bones when he's hurting. I'll wait, I'll wait for him to tell me the truth, and I will always wait."

Ever since Yukina's first words, Keiko had been staring at her with an open jaw, dumbfounded. Had Yukina just hinted that she knew who her brother was? _I never thought that she actually knew who her brother was,_ Keiko thought, _then why did she ask Hiei . . . oh my gosh! Could it be possible? Could Hiei and Yukina actually be twins?_

"Keiko? Are you okay?" said Yukina, full of concern as she looked at Keiko with her mouth wide open.

"I'm fine," Keiko replied trying to smile, "Was it my imagination or did you just hint that you knew who your brother was?"

"Hello everybody! Ready to cheer the boys on to kick some butt?" Botan's loud and cheery voice interrupted their conversation.

Shizuru came in right behind her, saying, "Is everyone ready to go? It's already 10:20."

"Hello, Botan and Shizuru," Yukina politely greeted her friends, acting as if nothing had happened.

"Hi, you guys," said Keiko, too distracted by the fact that Yukina and Hiei could possibly be twins to pay much attention to them.

"So . . ." she said to Yukina, desperately trying to figure out what was going on.

"Well, um," continued Yukina.

"Why do I have the feeling we came in at bad time?" Shizuru mumbled to herself.

"Hush," Botan said, eager to get in on some more gossip

Yukina seemed a bit hesitant at first, but she finally began to share with the other girls. "I know who my brother is. I've known for a long time and I have been waiting just as long to see if he would tell me the truth. Hiei is my brother."

Shizuru, Botan, and Keiko's jaws kissed the floor. Of course Shizuru and Botan had known about Hiei and Yukina's relationship before they even met each other from the video Koenma sent them about rescuing Yukina, but Keiko was just downright shocked.

_Well, that was blunt,_ was Shizuru's first thought. _Never thought she'd figure it out. Guess the little girl's not as naïve as we all thought._

_I never would have guessed . . . they're so different in personality. Yet, they have the same eyes, I suppose,_ thought Keiko, who never would have guessed in a million years about Hiei and Yukina.

Botan was panicking as a certain memory flashed into her mind. At the last Tournament, Botan had almost told Yukina about Hiei, but soon remembered Hiei's promise to torture her to death if she did. Terrified Botan imagined what Hiei would do to her.

_Oh no, for sure he'll think that I spilled the beans and told her. After all, I am a big blabbermouth. He'll kill me, torture me. The worst thing is, I didn't say anything, nothing._

Yukina watched the three faces staring at her, all with different expressions. Keiko had a shocked and dumbfounded look on her face, Shizuru seemed to be curious, as always, and Botan wore a terrified expression as if she were afraid someone was going to eat her.

"Aren't you guys happy that I finally found my long-lost brother?" asked Yukina, rather hurt.

"Oh, of course," replied everyone in unison, nodding their heads.

"Oh my look at the time!" cried Keiko, "We have to leave now if we want to make it in time for the start of the tournament."

"Right, let's go," said Shizuru as everyone walked out of the room.

Yukina was both excited and frightened about the Martial Arts Tournament in which people fight and could die at any time if they didn't keep their guard up. But she was aware of bloodshed and violence; after all, she did grow up in Makai. She was not as innocent as people would think.

The girls' walk to the stadium was peaceful. It was a beautiful day and everyone was to wound up in their own thoughts to start up a discussion.

"Where are they anyway?" said Yusuke, "those no-good, rotten girls are probably keeping us waiting on purpose."

SLAP!

"What did you say?" said Keiko all of a sudden appearing behind him with a look that said she had heard what Yusuke had called them.

"Ow, Keiko that hurt," Yusuke said, rubbing the back of his head, "We weren't saying nothing, okay?"

"Whatever," she said, brushing him off.

"Hello, Hiei," said Yukina shyly.

Hiei gave her a gruff nod, but never made eye contact with her.

"Are you guys going to stand out here all day of are you going to get into that stadium?" said Koenma, suddenly appearing out of nowhere in his teenage form with George. "After all," he continued, "No team of mine is going to be late, especially when they're a shoe-in to win. Right?"

He looked at his team expecting them all to say yes, but that's not what he got.

"Aw, Koenma, why'd you have to come? We can take care of ourselves now, remember? We don't want you _babying_ us around," said Yusuke, purposely putting an emphasis on the word baby. At this, the majority of the group started to laugh.

"That has got to be the stupidest pun I have ever heard in my life," replied Koenma, not at all happy about the way everyone was laughing at him.

_Why do I put up with all of this?_, he thought to himself as everyone began to head to the stadium again.

By the time they reached the stadium, everyone was dead serious. And, of course, they had every right to be, knowing that they could possibly die in this dangerous tournament. More than once had each team member been facing death in one of the fights, with an exception for Katana who had not participated in the Tournament before. But she was a great fighter and had faced death many, many times before as well, though none of her teammates knew about it.

As soon as all of the bystanders caught sight of the gang they all hushed of whispered remembering the extremely powerful guest team that had won last year's tournament.

Hiei snorted. _Hn, at least they're giving us the respect we deserve_, he thought. They walked into the stadium. Katana mentally gasped to herself, keeping her expression behind the emotional mask she had learned to keep up over all of her years.

Never had she seen so many creatures all in one place. There were fans everywhere, betting, talking, cheering. This truly was the famed "Dark Martial Arts Tournament" of which she had heard many stories.

As they walked towards the door they knew led to the backstage place reserved for the fighters, fans stared, giving them every kind of possible insult through their eyes.

"Some things never change," said Yusuke.

"Okay ladies," said Kuwabara loudly in his booming voice, acknowledging the girls following them, "I guess this is where we part. See ya later. Hope you guys don't get killed!"

"Hope that you don't get killed little bro," said Shizuru, teasing him, "You probably will get killed anyway, you're a weak fighter compared to everyone else in here."

"Shut up, sis," said Kuwabara to Shizuru, "Goodbye Yukina," he said taking her hand and blushing, "Cheer for me, okay?"

"Uh, okay Kazuma. Good luck, you guys!" she replied.

Hiei turned and scowled._ Of all people, why did the big monkey have to like her,_ he thought to himself. At that, they went their separate ways.

"Hey Koenma, you coming?" asked Yusuke, inviting the Reikai Prince to come along. Koenma seemed to hesitate. "Well, I really have to do a lot of work in Reikai," he said, "And I don't think I will be able to stay. But good luck. I'll be watching." With that he gave a nervous glance at Katana and left.

"So any of you guys scared?" asked Kuwabara after they had walked down the hall for a little while.

"Of course not," replied Yusuke confidently, "There's nothing to be scared about. Team Toguro isn't here and there really is no one that might be able to beat us."

"Well Yusuke, you never know," said Kurama.

"Aren't you fools forgetting something," said Hiei. "What about her," he said glaring toward Katana, "How do we know if she's even a decent fighter . . . or if we can trust her?"

Katana completely ignored him, as if she didn't hear, and she probably didn't, she looked preoccupied with her own thoughts.

"Don't worry Hiei. Something tells me that we can trust her. She sort of reminds me of . . . Genkai," said Yusuke with sadness in his eyes.

Everyone was silent the rest of the way. They stood behind the gate, waiting for Juri, the referee, to announce them.

"Uh . . . lady," said Kuwabara hesitantly, "I don't mean to be rude or anything, but are you sure you want to be here. I mean, there's tough competition out there and you could get killed. I'm warning you . . ." Katana shut him up with a silent, annoyed glare. "Well," said Kuwabara backing up and waving his hand in a defensive position, "I was just thinking about you."

"I would worry about myself if I were you," she replied, her tone hollow, with no emotion at all.

_Man that lady is freaking me out,_ thought Yusuke. _She's reminding me way too much about Genkai . . . Oh well, it's probably just the way she dresses. Damn, that fighting gi looks exactly like how the old lady's one used to._

"Hello? Is anyone out there?" said Koto, the announcer, "We're ready to start now, so whenever you're ready . . ." The crowd hushed. "Now that's more like it," she continued.

"Hello, everybody," started Juri, "And welcome to the tournament. I'll be you're referee for the next 10 days and Koto here will be you're announcer."

Everyone shouted complaints, "Hurry it up already!" someone said. "Okay, okay. We'll start," she said. "Now introducing, Team Urameshi!"

"That's our queue." said Yusuke walking out of the open gate. Everyone was in an uproar, shouting and throwing pieces of rubbish at them.

"Boo!" shouted someone in the stands, "Get off the stage," he shouted.

"Shut up!" said Shizuru, who was sitting above him. She slapped him.

"Don't you retards remember that they won last time," Keiko shouted, "You're lucky you all aren't dead by now!"

"Gee, some respect for the defending champions," said Yusuke without the least bit of surprise in it.

"Take out Kurama and Hiei first they're traitors," shouted one of the fans. Kurama and Hiei, who were used to these kinds of remarks, just ignored them.

"Now quiet down everyone," said Koto. Everyone stopped talking. "Okay and now, Team Lasen! The door opened and every head turned toward Team Lasen.

There were five of them. They were basically the same. All of them were huge, maybe about 9 feet, with red skin and horrible looking faces.

"They don't look all that tough," said Kuwabara, "I bet I could beat all 5 of them myself."

"Hn!" remarked Hiei with a smirk, "That's pretty big talk for an ape that practically lost every fight he fought."

"Come here you mouse. I swear one day I'm going to make you cry for mercy!" said Kuwabara charging Hiei.

"Is that all you've got?" Hiei said. He used his blinding speed to simply move away as Kuwabara was about to tackle him. Now Kuwabara was lying face down in the dirt. "Pitiful fool," said Hiei looking down on him.

"Why you little . . ."

"Now calm down Kuwabara," said Yusuke waving his hands, "Hiei has a point, you know, you did lose practically every fight you were in. Plus, we are in front of millions of . . . err . . .people here."

"Now you too, Urameshi?" said Kuwabara sounding betrayed, "Oh all right. I give up. You guys are hopeless."

"Uh hello, Urameshi Team? We'd like to start now," said Koto.

"Oh all right we're ready!" shouted Yusuke. "Gee, you'd think its some kinda race of something," he muttered under his breath.

"Now, team captains, come forward," said Juri, putting on her professional tone. They both went up, and Yusuke found himself facing an especially tall guy even for his team. Yusuke stared up. _This guy must be at least double, or even triple the size of me,_ he thought to himself.

"Now would you two like to have a five on five fight or just one on one?"

"One on one," said Yusuke after a few moments of thinking.

"Let the puny one decide," said the other teams captain, his voice reminded Yusuke of a car engine. It was deep and rumbling, and it seemed almost to shake the earth. They both turned and walked off the arena.

"Well, folks," said Koto, "It looks like we've got a one on one fight. This should be a doozy. Have fun!"

"So," said Yusuke, "Who wants to go first?" He looked each of the members of his team in the eye.

"Why don't we let our new team member go first?" Kurama suggested.

"Why not?" said Kuwabara, "Go for it lady."

"Hn," said Hiei.

"Okay, it looks like we've decided. You're up, Katana, is that alright?" said Yusuke sounding sure. But he wasn't, _I hope she doesn't get hurt. Maybe she'll refuse._

"Fine," she said her face expressionless.

A/N: So? How did you like it? Please review. See ya later!

ToCOrNot 77


	4. Suprising Reveals

A/N: Hey you guys. It's been a long time. I'm soooo sorry that I haven't been updating, I've been so busy. Anyways, enough about me. Thank you guys SO much for all of the reviews. I was reading them one night and I was so happy that you guys like my fic. So, here's the responses. 

**Hiei's Shadow Tenshi:** Cool. I like your new screen name. What is a tenshi anyways? It sounds so cool. Thank you so much for reviewing and reading my fic. I really really really appreciate it. Here's the next chappie for you!

**The Squabbit: **Wow! You put me on alert? I'm glad that you like my story so much. I'll try not to ever make you guys wait for one whole month, but you never know. I know that I hate it when authors don't update for a long time, so I'm gonna try my best to update ASAP. Thanks for reviewing!

**LaVicioso: **Yay! I got a new reviewer. Thanks so much for reviewing, but please don't pass out. Here's the next chappie for you. I hope you like it!

**aya-chan:** Hi! Another new reviewer. Yay! Hmm . . . to answer your question. You're close. Katana does have some connection to Genkai, but she's not her reincarnation. It's an interesting idea though. Here's the next chapter!

**Dragon of the Crimson Flame: **Yo! What's up, homie. Sorry I just felt like saying that. So sorry we haven't talked, but I've been so busy with soccer and stuff you know? Call me. Thanks for reviewing my story and for letting me use your pen name. Gosh! Can you believe that all of this was your idea? Now, look what you've gotten me into. . . but I have to admit, this is pretty fun. Thanks for everything. Here's the next chapter.

**Crazyloony598:** Welcome! Thank you so much for taking the time to review my story. I'm so happy that I'm actually getting reviewers and stuff. Yay! jumps around the room Well, anyways, here's the next chappie.

**Aznwolf4ever:** Hi again. Good to see you (well, you know what I mean) again. Wait . . . does the azn in your pen name stand for Asian? Sorry if it seems nosy, but I can't help it. I just wanna know cause if you are Asian, I am too! high five. Anyways here's the next chapter.

Secrets of the Past 

Chapter 3: Surprising Reveals

Katana approached the ring calmly.

"I'll take the little girl," said the team captain, sounding sure of himself.

"You guys think she'll make it?" asked Kuwabara.

"I don't know," said Kurama, "Personally, yes. There seems to be something about her. I just can't place a finger on it. It's as if she has already been through hell and back again . . . the look in her eyes. So cold and unfeeling, yet so sad at the same time. . . oh, never mind. I can't explain it.""

"Okay," said Koto, "In match number 1 of the Martial Arts Tournament we have Katana, from Team Urameshi, fighting against Banen, from Team Lasen. Banen is a crushing 10 feet tall and has a pretty good reputation around Makai. And Katana is 4 feet 8. She has come out of nowhere and is not expected by the betters to win this round, but we shall see."

"Ready, begin!" said Juri.

Banen laughed. "Do you really expect to win," he asked Katana. And when she didn't answer he continued, "You can't possibly win against the likes of me. Oh well, don't worry I'll make your death painless. A beautiful girl like you shouldn't be out here to begin with, but . . . I should teach you your lesson shouldn't I."

She still remained the same, standing upright with cold, stony eyes. This seemed to unnerve Banen a bit, but he didn't show it. After all, showing emotions other than confidence and cockiness is a great weakness. Or so it is said in Makai.

"Hurry up, already. We're getting restless," shouted one of the fans.

"Shall we?" Banen said, and then started to rush Katana. She still remained undaunted. But right when Banen was about to land a square punch, she disappeared. "Hey, where did you go?" Banen shouted.

"Here," she replied, standing behind him.

"How did you do that?" he asked.

Her only answer was silence.

"And Katana dodges with speed unfathomable and, now that I think about it, much like her teammate, Hiei's," reports Koto, "Now let's see what happens next."

_She almost looks . . . bored,_ thought Kurama.

"Holy smokes," said Kuwabara, "She can move just as fast as Hiei!"

"Took you long enough to figure it out, genius," said Hiei sarcastically, trying to get over his surprise.

He'd seen this kind of speed from only one girl before, but she was gone from his life forever . . . wasn't she? _Could it be her?_ He thought to himself. No, it couldn't be. This girl, Katana, acted nothing like the girl he was thinking about . . . but they did look alike. He hadn't seen her in decades. Was it possible that she could have changed this much? _Time changes everything._ That annoying little voice inside his head whispered an old Makai saying to him. _No now is not the time to be thinking of such things._ He mentally slapped himself. _Stupid emotions_, he thought as he focused on the fight at hand.

"That's it, I'm getting tired," Banen said, obviously frustrated, having not landed any of the ten or so punches he just threw. Once again he charged, but this time with an enormous axe that he had stowed behind his back.

And once again Katana dodged with lighting speed, she appeared right behind him in the air, hand drawn back.

"You've lost," she said to him. Then she brought her hand down on his neck and landed gracefully back on the arena.

Banen was knocked out cold from the seemingly effortless blow.

"Katana has brought down Banen in a single blow," yelled Koto, excitement in her voice.

"Now, I will begin the count," said Juri. "One, Two, Three, Four . . ."

"Trust me folks," said Koto, "I've had plenty experience on seeing people faint. And judging by the likes of this fight, it looks to me like Banen is going to be napping for a long while."

". . . And Ten!" said Juri, "Katana has won round 1 of the Martial Arts Tournament! Team Urameshi wins the round!"

"What a spectacular finish!" said Koto, "Katana put Banen down with just one hit. Now that's what I call a complete and utter loss."

"I agree with her," said Kuwabara to Katana as she returned to them, "Way to go, lady! To be honest, I thought you would get the guts beat out of you, but obviously you proved me wrong. I mean . . ."

"Shut up, you idiot," said Hiei with annoyance. She turned her gaze to Hiei, who tried not to notice her stare. Her hazel eyes twinkled with knowledge and something else he couldn't quite place behind her seemingly emotionless glare.

Kurama laughed, unknowingly breaking the tension between the two. "It appears that you are a strong fighter after all. Right Hiei?" He looked at Hiei expectantly.

"Hn," Hiei replied.

"C'mon shortie, admit it, you're just jealous because Katana can move just as fast as you," said Kuwabara, jumping at the chance to tease him.

But Hiei seemed as if he didn't hear, by the look on his face, he was in deep thought. _Something about her is definitely familiar,_ he thought to himself,_ and it's not Genkai. No . . . she is not who I think she is. She doesn't even have the same name. I must know her from elsewhere._ He searched his mind for answers, but couldn't think of anyone by that unusual name._ Katana . . ._

"Hello? Shrimp? Are you alright?" said Kuwabara, waving his hand in front of Hiei's face. He snapped out of it.

"Get your filthy hands out of my face, you pig!" he retorted, annoyed at Kuwabara for disturbing his thoughts. He looked at everyone else. His eyes fell upon Katana. She smirked and then looked away. _Damn annoying woman._

"Hello? Am I the only one here who remembers where we are?" said Yusuke waving his hands.

"Oh right," said Kuwabara, "So I guess I'm going next."

Meanwhile, in the stands Shizuru, Botan, Yukina, and Keiko are all shocked and staring in wonder at the girl standing by Yusuke and the others.

"Wow," said Botan, "Even I didn't even imagine such a display of strength."

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Keiko, "It looks to me like the guy was just a wimp. I do admit though, she is fast."

"No," said Shizuru, "She didn't put out a lot of energy to go by, but I can tell that she's masking tons of energy. I don't know how much, but she is very powerful."

"I agree," said Botan, nodding her head, "Too bad Koenma couldn't didn't stay to watch, though I'm certain that he's watching it on the big screen while stamping his papers. I would like to know exactly who this girl is."

"Maybe I should go up and look for her profile when I have the free time," she mumbled to herself.

"Do you think that she is alright?" said Yukina in her small, timid, and polite voice. Knowing the sweet ice maiden, she was probably thinking of going down to heal what minor injuries Katana might have.

"Of course, Yukina," Botan answered off-handedly.

"Hey, you guys, look! It looks like Kuwabara is going to the ring," informed Keiko.

"Don't worry, team," said Kuwabara, walking forward and waving his hand, "I'll keep us in the lead."

"Yeah right," Hiei mumbled.

"Don't get killed okay, Kuwabara?" shouted Yusuke, teasing him.

"In your dreams, Urameshi," he replied.

Team Banen, on the other hand, was getting nervous. Their team captain had been put down with only one blow.

"I'll take down this puny human," said the one called Yukon, "I always thought that Banen was too weak to get the job done."

Yukon was Banen's right hand man. He might maybe be even stronger. He was almost as tall as Banen, and definitely more muscular. Unlike Banen's mere fist fighting and summoning abilities, Yukon was trained in several different styles of martial arts.

"Don't get too cocky, Yukon," said Musashi, "The news is that this human beat the elder Toguro brother in the last tournament."

"Yeah, yeah," replied Yukon, ignoring his teammate's warnings.

"Fighters, step forward," said Juri. Both fighters walked to the center of the ring.

"We have match two," said Koto, "From Team Urameshi, Kuwabara! And from Team Lasen, we have Yukon! Let's hope that in this match we'll get to see more of the action."

"Now," said Juri, "Let the Round 2 begin!"

"Tell me," said Yukon, "How do you want to die?"

"No one's gonna die here, except maybe you," yelled Kuwabara as he charged Yukon, running at top speed.

"Spirit Sword!" he said, summoning his spirit energy to create his most used and infamous weapon. Yukon easily evaded the very ungraceful swing of the Spirit Sword.

"Is that all you've got?" he mocked.

"The fool does the same thing every time," said Hiei while Kuwabara was swinging and Yukon was dodging, "One day, he's going to get himself killed."

"Well, you have to admit," said Kurama smiling, "He is very persistent."

"Hn," replied Hiei with a scowl.

"It looks like Kuwabara is wasting all of his energy. Is he going to lose yet another match?" Koto's voice was heard questioning Kuwabara's strength, "Wait, it looks like Kuwabara is gearing up for battle for real. Let's hope he can give us something to see!"

"Shut up, you guys," said Yusuke, "It looks like Kuwabara's going to do something different." They all turned their eyes to the stadium. Kuwabara looked very tired.

"Looks like the fool's already run out of energy," commented Hiei.

"That's it," said Kuwabara to himself, "I'm tired of losing all of my battles. I have to win this one. I've got to prove to myself that I can beat this punk, that I'm a man."

"You? A man?" said Yukon, hearing Kuwabara, "You haven't even hit me once. You don't even deserve to call yourself a dog." He laughed at his own joke.

"That's it," said Kuwabara with clenched teeth, "Now you made me really angry. I'm tired of everyone calling me weak. It's time to show you what a can really do." With that he put his hands together and concentrated.

"Dimension Sword!" he shouted. Out of his hands sprang a huge yellow burst of energy.

"It looks like Kuwabara's Dimension Sword is in the game and ready to rumble!" said Koto, sounding excited. She had witnessed the last time he had used his Dimension Sword. Kuwabara attacked.

"Do you really think that this will have a different result? That's a pretty powerful weapon you got there, but it can't hurt me if you can't hit me," said Yukon, laughing cockily.

Kuwabara swung as if to hit Yukon on the side. He jumped up and landed a few feet away, where he knew the Dimension Sword wouldn't be able to reach him quick enough to catch him off guard.

"Extend!" commanded Kuwabara. When Yukon looked up he saw the sword coming straight for his head.

"What?" he yelled in surprise.

And that was the last word he ever spoke. Kuwabara's Dimension Sword completely incinerated him in its wrath.

"I don't think we need to count for this one, you guys. Unless you all think ashes can stand up again, the winner of Match 2 is Kuwabara from Team Urameshi!"

"With a stunning victory Kuwabara puts Team Urameshi in a 2-0 lead. Now, folks, due to some technical difficulties, there will be a fifteen minute break. Please feel free to grab some refreshments from the stand near the entrance." announced Koto.

"Go Kuwabara," shouted Yusuke as Kuwabara walked back to them, "This is one of the few matches you've ever won. Congrats!"

"Shut up, Urameshi," Kuwabara replied, breathing hard, "I'm tired."

"Hn, figures," mumbled Hiei.

"He did do a spectacular job," commented Kurama, "His power has greatly increased since the last tournament. Good job, Kuwabara."

"Thanks, Kurama," he replied, "Man, I haven't been this tired since . . ."

"The last Tournament," finished Yusuke in a grim voice. That was where Genkai died and it held very painful memories for the Urameshi Team.

At the mention of the last Tournament, a flicker of emotion passed through Katana's eyes. Was it . . . pain?

_The last Tournament. Where Genkai died . . . No I will not think of this. _Her eyes hardened, as cold as ice. _She was a weakness. Only a liability. It's better now that she's dead. _

No one else seemed to notice, but Kurama did.

_How strange . . . She seems so sad all the time._ He glanced at Hiei, who was so much like her. _Perhaps, we can make her happy as well. Or at least content. _

When Kurama snapped out of his thoughts, the rest of the team was in a heated conversation.

Katana had started it.

"You are all fools, congratulating a petty human on a slim victory. He barely escaped alive. It was just lucky that he took that fighter by surprise."

"Hey!" said Kuwabara. "I worked hard to win that fight. Are you saying that it was a fluke?" He sounded very upset, despite the fact that he was teased all the time.

"He has a point there Katana," said Yusuke, putting in his two cents. "It really wasn't that bad of a fight." For once, he was standing up for his rival/best friend instead of teasing him.

"All of you know nothing," she said, glancing over everyone with an almost hateful glare; Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei (who stared straight back at her icily), and Kurama, who seemed spaced out at the moment.

By this time, the air was getting tense. Everyone was quiet after the comment. She continued and this is where Kurama became mentally involved.

"In the _real_ world, that idiot would have been easily defeated. But for some odd reason, a streak of luck seems to follow you all through your fights. In the _real_ world, he would have been killed, do all of you understand."

It wasn't a question. She spoke quietly, yet the words seemed to ring in their ears. Her tone was harsh and uncaring, yet full of emotion. They could hear it all, her hate for the world and the knowledge of the ruthlessness it contained.

"You all don't know anything about the world. Especially you two," her eyes turned on Yusuke and Kuwabara, "One day, you will learn. You will learn that it is a kill or be killed life. If you don't buckle down, then you'll all die, just like-"

She cut off abruptly, as if the air had been sucked out of her lungs. Her hazel eyes which had been burning holes through Yusuke and Kuwabara's heads turned to the ground so suddenly that her wavy blue hair flew to cover her face. The air was still. The silence was deafening. The background drone of the crowd was forgotten by all, even Hiei had been listening closely the woman's "speech."

Koto's voice cut through that tension like a knife through butter.

"Okay, folks. I'm back and it appears as if we've got the results for the first round . . ."

A/N: So? How was it? I just read over it, and it kinda sucked. I apologize. But please review! I like reviews. Bye!

ToCOrNot 77


	5. Revelations and Vows

A/N: Hey guys! Its been a long time. I'm so so so so so sorry. I've been really busy and it was kind of hard to write this chapter and get it to flow. You see, all of the chapter previous to this one were a revised version of chapters I wrote a LONG time ago. So this is the first chapter that I actually wrote from scratch. I tried my best with it. I hope you guys enjoy it!

Review Responses:

**Hiei's Shadow Tenshi:** Thanks for answering my question. I feel so stupid. Anyways, sorry for the cliffy and all. I just couldn't resist, as for your questions. They will be answered . . . later on. evil smile Hope you enjoy the chapter. Thanks for reviewing!

**Prismdragon:** Yay! It's a new reviewer. Sorry I never updated in a long time. scratches head heh, heh. My bad. Thanks for reviewing. I hope you like this chappie!

**Dragon of the Crimson Flame:** Wow! Long review. Thanks so much for your support. I didn't really mean to change the title. It was a mistake, a horrible, horrible mistake. I'm not really used to doing these things so I kinda messed up and err, accidentally switched the title. sweatdrop I'm so stupid. Anyways, thanks for reviewing. Enjoy the chapter!

**aznwolf4evr:** Hey! reads review Yes! I knew I was right about the asian thing. I live in Hawaii, so there's tons of Asians here. Oops. I just gave away where I live. . . Oh well. Hawaii's a _big_ state. Well, thanks for reviewing and enjoy the chapter!

**My PenName is .** . . Interesting pen name. I like it. I'm so happy I got a new reviewer. jumps up and down for a while Anyway, thank you so much for reviewing and enjoy the chapter. I hope you like it!

**The Squabbit: **Hey! Well, Katana's identity will be revealed in this chapter . . . I think. Wait looks over chapter at the speed of light Oh yes, her identity is revealed, somewhat. As to answer your question. laughs Actually, I don't really know what blue cheese is either. Some kinda food or something. Cheese that is blue? Beats the heck out of me. So, thanks for reviewing and I hope you like this chapter!

**ShadowsOfTheDark: **Yo! What's up? Thank you so much for reviewing and answering my question. Sorry, I'm uh, kinda stupid. I love Hiei too! He's like my favorite character in the whole wide world. I don't know why I like him, though. He's just plain cool. Once again, thanks for reviewing. I hope that you enjoy this chapter!

**Vows and Revelations**

"Man, this sucks," said Yusuke, lying on his bed, talking to the rest of Team Urameshi, except Katana. They were all gathered in Yusuke's room. Kurama sitting on the couch, Kuwabara sitting on a chair and Hiei perched on the windowsill.

"Tell me about it," said Kuwabara, "I didn't even get to show off the new techniques I learned." At this, Hiei smirked.

"I must admit," put in Kurama, "It was awfully . . . strange, that Team Lasen was so scared of us that they forfeited, but at least we had an easy win."

"Hn," said Hiei, also angry that he didn't get to fight.

"We did learn something very important today, though," said Kurama, "Katana is, to say the least, an exceptional fighter."

"Exceptional!" said Kuwabara, "She was like, great. The lady, you know, Katana, got that guy, what's his name, down in one hit. Oh yeah! What does 'exceptional' mean?"

Everyone ignored the question.

Suddenly, Hiei jumped off the window sill. His dark, dangerous energy seep out of his small, yet ominous form, even though anyone could tell he was trying the tremendous power in.

The rest of the team shot Hiei a cautious look.

"What's gotten into you, Hiei?" questioned Yusuke.

"Mind your own business you fools," said Hiei, suddenly letting his energy out, causing a gust of hot air to sweep throughout the room. Then, he left, and the room instantly cooled as if he was never there.

_Man, I forgot how powerful Hiei is,_ thought Yusuke;_ He's got to be at least an upper S class warrior by now._ Kurama and Kuwabara were thinking the same thing.

For a while, no one in the room spoke. They just stared at the empty space where the fire demon had been just a second ago.

"Well, that was sudden," said Kuwabara.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious!" said Yusuke, deciding to ignore Hiei's sudden outburst. "Let's go get a burger or something you guys. I'm hungry."

­­­­­­­­­­­­

Hiei sat far away from the hotel, and any civilization for that matter, on a tree overlooking the ocean and a beautiful sunset.

Although he would never admit it to anyone, he loved dusk. It was his favorite time of the day.

Why, you ask?

Because it brought the cover of night, the safety of darkness that he felt comfortable in. After all, he had spent practically his whole life in hiding. He was a child of shadows. Nobody's family, nobody's friend . . . well, for most of his life anyway.

Now, he had people who just might care about him. And, who knows, maybe he cared about them too, just a little. He had found his sister, and could protect her always. This was the life he had always dreamed of, deep within the depths of his heart.

_Maybe, just maybe, I've finally found my place in life, with these people, with my sister and my . . . friends._

Even admitting it in his head was hard. Only a few people had ever reached this status in his life, this point where they were so close to him, that he would risk his life to keep them safe, and trust them with his own. But he didn't want to think about her right now. They were in his past, all of them.

_They left me, no, abandoned me, a long, long time ago, and yet . . . I still think about them. They were my family in every way except blood. . . especially her._

Her image came to mind, her petite and agile form, her cerulean blue hair, but most of all, her twinkling, playful brown eyes. Then he thought of Katana, with the same size and hair, and the same brown eyes. The same, but so very very different.

_Kira . . . She reminds me of Kira, so much. So much that it hurts._

He came to this conclusion as he stared at the orange sun dipping over the ocean. He missed her, and even though she had betrayed him, he couldn't be mad or hateful at her. All his life, he had prided himself on his aloofness, his lack of weaknesses, his ability to push everyone away and not let anyone ever see who he truly was. But she was the one person who had broken down the walls that protected his heart, she was his one weakness.

The stars were starting to shine, he noticed as he looked up to the darkening sky through the green canopy of leaves that was his home.

_Damn it! I have to stop. Damn sentimental feelings! She's gone, forever. She's not coming back you idiot. Now stop thinking about her. _

From the outside, he looked the same, as stoic as always, but maybe just a little bit frustrated. But on the inside, it felt like his heart was tearing apart as images flashed into his head. Images of the past, that he'd thought he had long buried deep in the corners of his mind resurfaced.

_I was weak back then, weak and foolish. I've learned, and I won't ever let it happen again. Never. I'll never let anyone become as close as she was to me . . . Never._

Calmly, he jumped down from the tree, as nimble as a cat, and started to attack helpless trees with his sharp katana. The full moon now shined brightly and reflected off of the gleaming blade, illuminated his perfectly emotionless face, revealing none of the inner torment he was going through at the time.

_Damn!_ Katana thought to herself as she walked through the forest. It was still midday and she had separated from the boys immediately after the round had been forfeited.

_How could I have been so careless! Damn! _She repeated, followed by several other choice words that I don't care to write down.

Her gaze turned down to her hand which was held to her bleeding side in attempt to stop the blood flow. Luckily, no one had noticedfor she had hidden it well, but she had been wounded in her match with Banen. At first it seemed minor, only a small cut to the side. Nothing to worry about, and the bleeding wasn't too bad either. But as time went on, the pain worsened, and though it wasn't bleeding at all, it became almost impossible to bear. If she had been anyone else, she would have been crying in pain. Perhaps that was what had made her verbally lash out at Kuwabara and the others.

_It seems that whenever I'm in pain, I lose my control on my emotions. I can't have that happening in front of them again. It wasn't very wise. They might become suspicious of me now._

"Ahh," she knelt down in pain, moaning as the pain worsened, as if someone was sticking a dull blade into the wound and twisting it. Her breath came in short gasps as the forest ground began to spin.

_Must . . . stay . . . awake . . ._

How had Banen, a weakling compared to Katana, given her such a horrible wound? All he did was knick her with his axe in his final charge, but this was a different kind of cut. It only started to bleed when she had left the arena, or else the fox, Kurama, would surely have smelt her blood and had her examined. But she wouldn't allow that, she wouldn't let them see her as weak and helpless.

Slowly, the pain seeped away. The world stopped spinning and she was able to stand up again. Her hazel brown eyes turned to the setting sun.

_I really should be going back now. . . No, I can't go back to the hotel. I might have another attack from this stupid cut. I'd best sleep out here in a tree. It's much more comfortable anyway._

She settled comfortably into a nearby tree as the stars began appear in the sky. Today, she was unusually tired.

_It must be because of this stupid cut, _she thought, looking at the small tear in her shirt. _There's something not right about this wound. It's not healing as it should. A cut this small should have healed by now. I don't see or smell any poison . . . but I should make something to prevent it anyway. Just to be sure._ She yawned, and felt even more sleepy. _Maybe later. . . I'll do it later . . ._ was her last conscious thought as she fell into a deep sleep.

In Katana's Dream

It was twilight in the plains of Makai, and all was still. That is, except for the noise created by a small group of bandits or 'gypsies' as some had nicknamed them that had decided to camp here for the night.

"Katrina, dinner! Go and get the kids for me, will you?" said a busy woman as she bustled around the camp fire. Her wavy black hair framed her perfect face and hazel brown eyes, and even though she was dressed in dirty, unkempt clothes, she was still very beautiful.

"Mom," replied a girl who looked to be about 15, "Just let them do whatever they want. Who cares if they miss dinner. They're probably out in the woods somewhere anyway. It'll take me _hours_ to find them." It was obvious by their looks that this girl, Katrina, was the woman's daughter. They both were petite and had the same hazel eyes, though Katrina's hair was a navy blue and as straight as a board.

"Fine," the woman, Miriel, said, sounding exasperated. "Just go get your father, and hurry! The food will get cold." She was busy setting out the utensils and such, and didn't even look up as Katrina came back with her husband, and Katrina's father.

Just by the way he walked; you could tell that this man was someone important and powerful, even though he was dressed very poorly to say the least. Clothes almost reduced to rags covered his broad shoulders, but his keen and perceptive crimson gaze seemed to penetrate everyone he looked at, making them feel as if he could see their every secret. His slightly wavy navy blue hair covered one of his eyes, making him look even more secretive. This was Kakashi, the leader of the Ryuki bandits.

"It looks great!" Kakashi said, sitting on the ground and grabbing at his small share of food.

"I'm sorry you can't have more, but we need to save the deer you men just caught for later," replied Miriel. "You'd better enjoy the fresh, cooked meat while you can."

"This is plenty enough, Miriel," he said, thankful for what he had.

Obviously, this wasn't your average demon family. Most demons didn't even have families, much less such a close-knit one as this. The chance of having a comfortable and positive environment like this in Makai was one in a billion, but Katrina and her sister were the very lucky ones chosen to grow up here.

Halfway through dinner the last member of the family finally arrived, late _and_ absolutely filthy, but extremely happy for some unknown reason.

"About time, half-pint," commented Katrina.

"Shut up!" was the instant reply, though the joy never left her face or voice. The girl looked to be about the same age as Katrina, but was actually about ten years younger. She, like everyone else, was dressed in rags, but these rags were especially dirty today. It looked as if she had rolled in a pile of manure or something, even her once blue wavy hair was caked in the . . . brown stuff. But despite all of this, she had a pleased smile on her face, her hazel brown eyes twinkling with joy.

"What's got you so happy?" questioned Kakashi, looking up after finishing his plate.

"Oh . . . nothing," she replied still smiling.

"Kira," said her mother in a warning tone. "We've been waiting for you to come home all day. It's well after dark and you left in the morning. Don't you know that its dangerous to be out by yourself at night. You could have been hurt, or worse-"

"Alright, we get it Miriel," cut in Kakashi. "No need to make a fuss. Plus, Kira's a strong girl, she can handle herself. But what the heck is that awful smell? And where is your friend, Kira? Don't tell me you did something to him . . . again."

At this, Kira finally broke out laughing, the pleasant sound making the dark night not so dreary.

Finally after she was able to stop, she explained. "He's probably out somewhere trying to clean all of the bat dodo I put all over him." She giggled a bit. "It was priceless. You guys should have been there."

"What was that?" a dark figure was outlined against the forest, its voice sounding ominous and threatening.

"Hey, shorty," said Kira, not fazed at all by his sudden appearance, "Did you get all the crap off yourself yet?" She turned around and started laughing at the sight of him.

"I got you just as bad as you got me, and you know it, baka. And you have absolutely no right to call me shorty cause you're _way_ shorter than I am." The figure retorted as it stepped into the light.

Now that he had stepped into the light, you could see his appearance clearly. His spiky, black hair tipped off to the side, drenched with water, in a comical way. His usually tan shirt and pants were colored a darker shade and was wet and smeared with his failed attempts at washing them. But the funniest thing of all was his face, so full of emotion. I can't even describe it. He seemed furious, embarrassed, and grouchy all at the same time.

As the rest of Kira's family caught sight of him they too broke down in laughing. It was a happy time, and a happy memory, but just as suddenly as it had appeared, it had gone.

The laughing and merry faces of Katana's family and the sound of their laughter suddenly stopped, and was replaced with roaring and crackling red-orange flames.

They overtook the whole camp, her family, her home, the only things she had had. Blood, death, and destruction was all there was to see. The scent of burning flesh and blood invaded her nose as the last agonized screams of her fellow bandits echoed in her ears. . .

"STOP!" Katana screamed at the top of her lungs as she came to her senses. Immediately, out of habit, she jumped out of the tree and unsheathed her katana, getting in fighting stance, eyes and senses reaching out, ready for any possible threat or danger, ready for anything.

All that met her eyes and senses was dark . . . the quiet, deadly dark of the night.

Slowly, she started to relax, and began to realize that it was only a dream.

_Just a dream, just a dream,_ she repeated to herself over and over again, like a broken record. It scared her that a dream, something not even real, would give her such a fright. She tried to slow her breathing and heart beat down, and resheathed her katana, the sound of the blade against her wooden sheath echoing in the still night air.

_It was just a dream. Not real. It's all in the past, just a stupid, bad memory . . . why can't I forget it? It happened a long time ago. They're gone, and there's nothing I can do about it. They're dead, all of them, they all died. Why can't I simply forget?_

_Because you can't, _whispered a soft voice in her head. _You can't to forget them. You never have, and you never will. _

She felt as if someone had punched her in the gut as the truth came upon her, and for once in her life, she felt like crying, just curling up into a ball and crying her heart out. Crying for her father, crying for her family and for the rest of the gypsies. They had all suffered a tragic fate, a fate that none of them, not on deserved. But she knew she couldn't cry. _Never show your weaknesses, even if it's just to yourself. _This was one of the rules she had lived by for the majority of her life. These were the kinds of rules that kept you alive out in Makai.

_Why now? Why did it have to come back now?_ she asked the voice inside her head.

She was answered with silence. The voice had deserted her.

Yes, she had had this dream before, many, many times before, but never had any of her dreams seemed so real, so . . . tangible. She could still feel the heat of that horrible fire, and hear the dieing screams of those who were being killed, and smell the scent of blood and rotting flesh.

_It doesn't matter. Might as well get some sleep . . . if I can. We have a match tomorrow, and we need to win. Don't worry, Genkai, I'll keep my last promise to you._

She settled back into her tree branch and watched the stars twinkling up above, and the bright full moon. Far away, she could almost hear a blade slicing through wood, and the felling of a tree.

_Someone must be training tonight._

A twinge of pain ran down her side, and she remembered her cut. She looked down and saw that, although it wasn't healed yet, it seemed to have gotten no worse.

_I must be getting paranoid. That fool probably just had an enchanted blade or something. An idiot like him would never be smart enough to know even the simplest poisons. It's probably nothing to worry about. _

She quickly dismissed the subject from her mind and closed her eyes, but all she could see was the same scene from the dream. The fire, the blood, the dead bodies.

_Damn it! _She cursed and swore for the thousandth time that she would kill the ones who did it. After taking a few deep breaths, she calmed down.

Focusing her mind away from that, and towards the good half of the dream, a precious, joyful fragment of her life. When life had been carefree and safe and her father, mother, sister, and everyone else had still been alive. Before everything had gone wrong and Hiei had betrayed them.

_Hiei . . . he's changed so much. So, so much. _His cold, unemotional crimson eyes came to her mind, and she remembered the cautious, but open eyes the old Hiei had once had.

_It's hard to believe that we're the same people we were back then. . . No. I won't think about him. Not like that. He's a cold-blooded killer. I'll never forgive him for what he did to me and my family. Never._

And as this last vow echoed in her mind, she fell into a deep, but restless sleep.

A/N: So? What'd ya think? Like it? Hate it? Either way, please review. I'll be heartbroken if you don't. Thanks for reading! 

ToCOrNot 77


	6. Premonitions

A/N: Okay, guys. I apologize ahead of time for any typos or if you think this chapter sucks. It was actually very hard for me to write this one, and I'm SO SORRY if it's boring, but I tried to make it as interesting as possible. The only thing I sort of like about this chapter is that Hiei and Katana finally have their first confrontation. Also, I'm sorry for not updating. It's taking a little longer than expected, but I'll have more time now. Soccer's OVER. does a happy dance Anyway, I'm rambling. Sorry. Okay, review responses. Thanks SO MUCH you guys.

**The Squabbit:** heh, heh . . . scratches head Sorry about not updating. But I'll try my best from now on. I promise! I'm really happy that you liked the last chapter. And don't worry, I'll explain more about how they both say they betrayed each other over the whole story. You see, Katana and Hiei used to be best friends, but- OMG I'm totally giving everything away. My bad. laughs evilly I love to leave everyone in suspense. It's so fun. . . Anyway, thanks for being my constant reviewer. You're da best.

**Hiei's Shadow Tenshi:** reads review Thanks so much for your consideration. I was actually really happy with how much reviews I got for the last chapter. Please keep updating, OK? Yeah, you're right. I did sorta get Kakashi out of the Kakashi from Naruto. I really couldn't think of any names back then, so I thought that Kakashi was a really cool name, so I just used it. He is awesome isn't he? Anyways, here's the next chapter and please review me again!

**aznwolf4evr: **Wow! Thanks for your complements. tears of joy They really boost my self esteem, you know? Anyway . . . you live in Washington! No way! My brother goes to college there. He's in UW. Huskies ROCK! woot woot Anyway, thanks for your review. I hope you enjoy the chapter.

**Very Pissed Fire Demon's Mate:** It's nice to have a new reviewer. I'm sorry that I haven't updated in a long time. I'm not even sure if you'll read this, but if you do, please try to be patient with me and review, even though I'm sort of a slow updater. I really like reviews. I love to read Hiei stories too! Do you have any recommendations? I'm always looking for great stories. Anyways, thanks for reviewing and drop by again! I feel like I'm working at McDonalds or something Well, enjoy the chapter!

**ladyKaguya:** Welcome back! You don't have to apologize for not reviewing. You sound super busy. Hope you do great in college! Is it fun? . . . Anyway, I'm glad that you like my story. I was sort of aiming at making Katana sort of like Hiei. As you'll find out later, they are alike in many different ways and both have similar and sort of intertwined pasts. Sorry I made you wait so long, but here's the chapter and I hope you like it!

**Prismdragon:** Thanks for reviewing! It's nice to see, um, talk, to you again. Thanks for your comments on my writing style and stuff. If you have any tips, feel free to help me out. Well, sorry for making you wait so long. I was sort of busy with life and all. Anyways, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

**Tsume-Hiei luver:** Hello, thanks for reviewing. I'm so sorry I haven't updated in a long time when you said to update soon, but I was a bit busy and it was really hard to get this chapter out of my head. It's sort of like a filler chapter and I'm sorry if you don't like it, but please review again! I love new reviewers. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

**Saarah14:** Hello! I did review you fic. Did you see? I haven't checked it lately, though. Did you update? Well, I hope that you'll review mine this time. Please enjoy the chapter and I'm so sorry for the delay.

**Dragon of the Crimson Flame:** Wow! Two reviews! How'd you manage that? laughs I already know. Computers are stupid sometimes, yeah? I did change the plot a lot since you read it last. I really should tell you about it sometime, but we rarely get to talk anymore. You never call. sad face Anyway, here's the next chapter. I hope you like it. This one was kinda hard to write.

Secrets of the Past

Chapter 5: Premonitions

The sun's gentle rays filtered in through the glass window, causing a sleeping kitsune to awake from his deep, dreamless slumber.

The first thought in Kurama's head was, unfortunately, _Damn._ By the position of the sun and his internal instincts, he could already tell that he had overslept. It must have been around 9:00. He was supposed to meet the others at 9:30, and he had hoped to wake up at sunset and train. _I guess it's too late now,_ he thought to himself disappointedly. _ Oh well. I just hope that today's match isn't too hard._

He couldn't very well explain it, but Kurama had been getting a bad feeling about today's match. It was unusual; he didn't usually get premonitions, that was Kuwabara's thing. But, somehow, he had a very, very bad feeling about today and he had learned from past experience that whenever he got these feelings, they should not be ignored or taken lightly.

The kitsune got out of bed and began to get ready. _I'll have to keep an eye out for anything that might pose a potential threat, _he reminded himself as he looked in the mirror, brushing his teeth.

"Where the heck is everyone!" Yusuke's loud and angry voice broke the stillness of the morning.

He was answered by silence.

"Am I supposed to answer that?" asked Kuwabara after a few minutes.

Yusuke threw his hands up in exasperation and let out a yell of frustration. "Who the hell do you think I'm talking to you idiot!" He mumbled a few choice words under his breath, pacing around the clearing they were supposed to be meeting everyone at.

"Well," Kuwabara said after Yusuke had calmed down, "How am I supposed to know where everyone is?"

Yusuke looked at Kuwabara, the vein on his forehead showing. "Now, I know why Hiei thinks you're such an idiot," he said.

"Shut up, Urameshi! I've taken enough of your insults for one morning! If you insult me one more time I'm gonna pound you're face in!" He paused, and then retorted. "Plus, we are 15 minutes early in case you haven't noticed _genius._" His voice oozed with sarcasm.

"Blockhead," replied Yusuke calmly.

"Numbskull," retorted Kuwabara just as calmly.

"Retard."

"Freak."

The forest rang with their insults and put downs until Katana, who had been there way before them, decided to step in, due to the fact that her ears were ringing with the annoying voices.

A strong gust of wind, almost as strong as a hurricane suddenly appeared out of nowhere, almost blowing the boys off their feet, as she jumped out of the tree she had been lounging on and shouted over the two arguing boys, "Alright! You are two are both idiots! So will you shut the hell up!"

Slowly the wind began to calm down as she closed her eyes, taking deep, calming breaths.

Both boys turned to look at her in awe. For a brief moment, they had been able to sense her power, especially Kuwabara.

_Wow . . . _Kuwabara thought, _She's pretty strong. _

"Plus," she said ignoring their surprised and amazed looks, "You're voices are hurting my ears. You sound like a bunch of llamas arguing over food." She rubbed her left ear. "Damn it," she muttered under her breath. Her tone was much softer and controlled now, not as wild and unchecked as it had been before, when she was telling them to shut up.

She seemed to have calmed down, and leant against the nearest tree, crossing her arms, an indifferent expression on her face as she seemed to be observing the clearing.

There was silence for a moment, until Yusuke finally decided to voice the question on both of the detective's minds. "Yo, lady? What kind of demon are you? Wind, right? I'll eat Kuwabara's old socks if that wasn't you who caused that mini-hurricane."

Her hazel brown gaze turned to Yusuke, and he was taken back by their intensity. "It's none of your business," she replied brusquely, as her gaze turned back up towards the sky.

"But-" Kuwabara was cut off as Kurama entered the clearing.

His emerald green eyes widened in playful surprise as he put a hand to his chest, pretending to be shocked. "Wow! You two are actually on time for once. Today must really be special." He looked toward Katana, who ignored his presence. "It's nice to see you Katana," he said, polite as always.

She turned toward him and gave him a nod.

He scanned the area and his teammates, looking for anything that might be out of the ordinary. His gaze landed on Katana. Something seemed . . . off about her, as if she were more . . . tired than usual. Her cerulean hair was tied into a low ponytail, but seemed to be a bit messy, as if she had been tossing and turning during the night. And beneath the indifferent mask she wore, he could see an unnatural tiredness in her hazel orbs.

_I wonder . . . could something have happened to her during the night, _he thought, considering the possibilities.

As if she had sensed his calculating eyes on her, she turned toward him, and he quickly averted his eyes, pretending to be listening to Yusuke and Kuwabara's conversation.

"Kuwabara, you're way too paranoid," said Yusuke. The previous argument seemed to have been long forgotten, and they talked as if nothing had happened.

"I know," replied Kuwabara, his tone serious, "It sounds stupid, but . . . I don't know I can't explain it." He sounded frustrated.

"Damn right it sounds stupid. There's no one at this tournament even _worth_ our _time,_ Kuwabara," Yusuke explains. "They're all weaklings. We're way too strong to even be _scratched _by them, much less seriously injured."

"I know, but Urameshi, I just have this really bad feeling, you know, like, a tingling all over my body. And my stomach is churning, and my head is pounding, and-" He was about to continue when he was interrupted by Kurama

"Don't worry, Kuwabara, I have the exact same feeling. It's like something bad is going to happen. I think that we should all keep a look out for anything out of the ordinary."

Kuwabara sighed. "Well, I'm glad that at least _someone_," he glanced at Urameshi, "understands what I'm going through, and is smart enough to heed my wise and all-powerful words."

Yusuke snorted and was about to retort when Kurama wisely decided to change the subject before an argument arose. "Where's Hiei?" he said. For a moment, there was complete silence.

"Yeah, where is three-eyes, anyways?" asked Yusuke.

"Shorty's late," Kuwabara said needlessly.

"Perhaps," a dark, low voice entered the conversation, "You are all too brainless," he eyed Kuwabara, "Or senseless," he glared at Yusuke, "To realize that I have already been here for the past few minutes." They all looked towards the source of the voice, and there was our favorite fire apparition, standing under a tree in much the same way as Katana.

Kurama frowned as he looked at his friend. There was no big change, no _real_ difference to Hiei's appearance. There were just subtle changes that the ever-observant kitsune had picked up as he first glanced at his friend.

First of all, the bandage Hiei used to cover and restrain his dragon tattoo was slightly undone and scuffed. Hiei_ never_ went into a fight without the sign of his most deadly attack perfectly concealed and restrained. Despite popular belief, Hiei was a creature of habit. It just wasn't like him to ignore rebandaging his arm, something he did before every fight or mission.

Secondly, he didn't have on his usual black cape today. As I've said before, Hiei was a creature of habit and _always_ wore the black cape that had become his trademark. The only reason he would take it off was before or during a fight. Today, he wore only the sleeveless black shirt that he usually wore underneath the cape. The shirt had several small tears here and there, giving everyone the impression that the fire demon and his explosive temper had gotten himself into yet another fight.

But most of all it was the look in his eyes that made the demon look tired and worn. The crimson red orbs that were usually shining with full awareness and cockiness now seemed dulled, as if he hadn't gotten enough sleep, or had used too much power and not had enough time to recuperate. Actually, it looked like he had just woken up a few minutes ago. His energy seemed okay, but wavered once in a while, as if he struggled to keep it normal.

All of these observations passed through Kurama's head in a few seconds, and he came to a magnificent and ingenious conclusion that . . . something was off.

Okay, so it wasn't magnificent _or_ ingenous, but, hey! It was something.

The exact same thoughts were going through Katana's head and, though she did not know Hiei as well as Kurama did, she could sense that he was more tired and sapped of energy than usual.

_This is bad,_ thought Katana furiously as she observed his condition. _We can't afford to have one of our strongest fighters out of commission! We have to win this, no matter what! It's the only way I can honor her death._

Suddenly, before even she knew what she was doing, Katana was at Hiei's neck pinning him against the tree. Her cold, brown eyes pierced into his angry crimson ones. For a split second all they did was glare at each other, pure hatred spilling between them, creating tension that could be cut with a knife.

Then Katana's voice, quiet and deadly, cut through the silence, "Listen, I know that you don't care about anyone or anything, but this is important to me. Don't you _dare_," she pushed him up farther against the tree, choking him. She repeated, "Don't you _dare_, pull a stunt like this again and endanger our chances of winning." Her threat hung in the still air as she stared up at him, anger and passion set in her eyes. Despite her size, at that moment, she looked bigger than Hiei . . . and stronger.

Then, Hiei, showing more self-restraint than the rest of the group ever thought possible, slowly, and calmly, grabbed Katana's arm, and forced her to let go of his neck. They struggled silently for a while, not a sound escaping their lips, but after a few seconds, Katana gave up. She couldn't match Hiei's strength, even if she tried her best.

Still, after she had released him, he held on to her wrist, his eyes carefully blank. He drew her closer and leaned down so that only she could hear. His hot breath tickled her ear as he spoke, his tone low and quiet and . . . threatening, "Don't threaten me, onna."

With those short, but to the point words, he released her from his iron grip, turned, and jumped into a nearby tree as if nothing had happened.

"Are we going or not?" he questioned the rest of the gang, who had been staring at the two of them with wide eyes and open mouths.

With that the whole group, including Katana, snapped out of the trance the argument had created. Suddenly, the tension broke, and time seemed to flow once more.

Everyone acted as if nothing had happened as they headed to the arena. Yusuke and Kuwabara were already in a heated argument about whose socks smelt stinker, while Katana walked behind them, her face blank. Kurama walked quietly beside Yusuke and Kuwabara, seemingly doing nothing. Hiei was, as usual, jumping from tree to tree, following the rest of the group along the path.

He stared at his hand, remembering the coolness of her skin. _Why does it feel so familiar? Why does all of this feel so familiar? She couldn't really be . . .?_

His thoughts were interrupted as Kurama's calm voice entered his mind.

_Wasn't that a bit drastic, Hiei?_ he questioned the fire demon telepathically. All spirit foxes had this gift of mind speak. How else would they communicate when in fox form?

_Get out of my head, fox, _was Hiei's heated reply. He sounded agitated and even more grumpy than usual.

_By the looks of your clothing, you didn't get that much sleep last night. You look terrible, _said the fox bluntly, ignoring Hiei's snappy attitude. After all, he was used to it already.

Unknown to Kurama, at his comment Hiei glanced down at his cloths and realized that he did look terrible. He had spent all night last night "training" on the trees. Okay, so he was taking out some anger on the poor defenseless things, but no one had to know that. As the sun rose, he was finally so tired that he just fell asleep where he had fallen over from exhaustion in a clearing he himself had made. And when he had woken up, he was already late for their meeting. He hadn't had any time to check on his appearance.

_Damn,_ he thought after a few seconds of silence.

_Damn is right,_ commented Kurama, annoying the hell out of Hiei.

_Get the HELL out of my head, you damn ANNOYING fox!_ Hiei's loud furious voice echoed throughout the fox's mind and he winced, his step faltering.

_As you wish,_ he thought calmly, withdrawing from the irritated fire apparition's mind.

Katana stopped short, almost running into Kurama as his step faltered.

_What the hell . . ._ she thought distractedly as she continued walking.

Her gaze turned up to the sky. She had always loved the sky. After all, it was her element . . . sort of. She closed her eyes, trying to let all thoughts wash away into the nothingness, to be swept away with the breeze. . . But it wasn't working.

Images flashed through her mind. Crimson eyes boring into her. The sound of his voice as his hot breath tickled her ear. The familiar, and somehow comforting feeling of his hands on her skin . . . And his scent, his scent, so intoxicating. For that brief moment when they had been so, so close, she had smelt his scent. He smelt like fire and smoke and danger and blood and most of all he smelt like . . . she couldn't quite place that last smell . . .

_Damn,_ she thought. _What am I thinking! I can't be distracted now. Especially not by that good-for-nothing, traitorous fire demon. Not by him . . . anyone but him. What is it about him anyway? What is it about him that makes me lose control? What is it about him that makes me snap, makes me think about things I've never thought about in decades? Why do I still feel like he's a friend?_

She trailed off at this thought. How could she still tolerate, or maybe even care about him? She felt like she was betraying her family by caring about him, by not hating him, by not _wanting _to kill him for what he did.

_Traitor . . ._ she thought, trying to bring back all of the hate she had felt towards him the moment she found out what he had done to her father.

_Murderer ._ she thought, feeling emotions rush through her body. But . . . surprisingly, the hate didn't come. She was left feeling sad, and confused. Betrayed.

_Why ._

Kurama looked behind him, tired of listening to Yusuke and Kuwabara argue as they walked to the stadium. But as he did, he noticed something strange. Katana was falling behind. She was walking slowly, her hands in her pants pockets, her head hung down. The blue locks that had escaped her low ponytail hung conveniently in front of her face, hiding it from view. A strange aura hung about her, full of so many emotions, yet, so empty. To put it simply, she looked sad, lonely, as if she were the only one living in all three realms.

_Maybe I'll go and talk to her . . . though I doubt she'll respond. But it's worth a try._

He dropped back, walking slowly as if to admire the view. He didn't want her to notice him, but it seemed that he didn't have to worry, she didn't even look up as he approached.

"Katana, are you alright?" Kurama's concerned voice disrupted Katana's thoughts, breaking her out of the trance she was in. She looked up, straight into worried, emerald eyes.

For a moment, Kurama looked shocked before he broke eye contact. For a split second, he thought that he saw tears shining in her eyes. Then, as fast as he had seen them, they had disappeared, leaving only the indifferent hazel eyes that he was used to seeing.

_It must have just been the light,_ he thought, shaking his head slightly to clear the image from his mind. She had looked so sad, so fragile . . . even he hadn't expected it.

"I'm fine," she replied, almost cautiously. She was about to ask why he had thought something was wrong with her in the first place, but was interrupted by Kuwabara's rarely used, but still loud serious voice.

"We're here you guys." He was met with silence as the Kurama and Katana caught up with the rest of the team, and they gathered in front of the back entrance, staring it down. At that moment, everyone, even Yusuke, the most spiritually unaware person on the team, sensed a bad feeling emanating out of the two dirty black doors. Not the bone-chilled, I'm-gonna-die feeling that they had had when they had faced the Toguro brothers, but a bad feeling nonetheless. Like goose bumps all over your body, and a rock at the pit of your stomach.

Kuwabara continued, still in his serious tone, "This is where bad things happen, you guys. We could be seriously injured or maimed for life. Or worse," he paused for dramatic effect, "We could die and be separated from our loved ones forever. . . Oh my precious Yukina . . ." Hiei scowled at Kuwabara's mention of his sister. "This is it, you guys, if we walk through this door our lives will be changed f-"

"Kuwabara," Yusuke interrupted in his serious voice. "Would you please," he continued, "SHUT THE HELL UP!" He yelled into his friend's ear, knocking Kuwabara over and making birds within a few miles scatter into the sky.

It took the whole group a while to recover. That was loud, even for Yusuke. Kurama rubbed his sensitive ears, making a face while Kuwabara lay on the ground, looking unconscious.

"Yo, Kuwabara," Yusuke said, kicking his friend. "Get up, would ya? We're gonna be late." Still, he got no answer. He bent down shaking the poor orange-headed human.

Just when they thought they would have to carry him in, he suddenly got up and pounced on an unsuspecting Yusuke, knocking him to the ground, where they started to wrestle each other.

"What the heck was that for, Urameshi!" said Kuwbara, pinning Yusuke down. "I was just trying to tell everyone about the danger we would be facing and-"

"Exactly, Kuwabara," Yusuke cut him off rudely, "That's exactly it. We already know about your tickle feeling and all that crap. We already know about the danger we're facing. You don't have to stop us all with your moronic speeches and dumb ass comments."

"At least I'm spiritually aware, unlike _some_ people. . . and its called a _premonition_, it's not just a tickle feeling. And I do _not_ make moronic speeches or dumbass-"

"Yeah, yeah. You wanna prove it, tough guy?"

"Alright, calm down children," said Kurama, stepping in the middle of the two angry teens. As always, he had to play peacemaker. He sure as heck knew that Hiei and Katana wouldn't. They actually looked quite amused with the whole thing.

"Let's just go inside, alright?" Kurama led the way in, and after a few seconds, the others followed.

By now their match was just about to start and they had no time to stop and chat with the girls or Koenma. Quickly, they made their way down to the door, where they waited to be introduced.

For once, there was silence as they waited to go out. Everyone was busy pondering about what was about to happen. Even Yusuke, who had been so cocky, was beginning to doubt if they really would escape this round unscathed as they had last time.

_What the heck am I worrying about?_ thought Yusuke to himself,_ This'll be a piece of pie, nothing could be as strong as Sensui. My power could probably sink this whole island. . . but what about the others. In a one on one match, I won't be able to help him. I'm sure Hiei and Kurama can take care of themselves, and that Katana lady probably can too, but what about Kuwabara? He's probably aged even more and gotten even weaker since the last tournament. After all, he's only human. . . Ah, who gives, I never was good at brooding._

Koto's voice cut into his thoughts and he almost jumped. Almost.

"Okay, folks. Last round we witnessed the absolutely brutal slaughter of Team Yuki by Team Kamiko. It was wonderful wasn't it?"

The loud, and most likely drunk, crowd whistled and cheered in response.

"Now we can witness some more action and death as we watch Team Urameshi, defending champions, and Team Yuri!"

The crowd erupted into cheers once again, screaming things like, "We want more blood!" or "Slaughter Team Urameshi!"

"Wow, aren't we popular," said Yusuke sarcastically, knowing that they would get this kind of reaction.

"I sense strong demon energy," warned Kurama, "We'll have to be a bit more careful with this team than the last."

"I told you guys something bad was gonna happen," said Kuwabara, matter-of-factly.

"Shut up. We're on," stated Katana coldly. And sure enough, Koto announced them two seconds later, "And now, Team Urameshi!"

"Ready, guys?" asked Yusuke as the door opened.

"Ready," answered Kuwabara for the rest of the team

A/N: Hello again! Well, I hope you liked the chapter. PLEASE review. I'd really appreciate it if you did. I'll try to update soon, but I have to write a novel for school so I'm not sure. Oh yeah, anyone know of some good name, girl or guy (preferably guy) that I could use for my novel? Thanks. Well, hopefully, I'll talk to you guys soon!

ToCOrNot 77


End file.
